Huawei has signed a memorandum of understanding with the city of Vila-real in eastern Spain to help transform the ancient city into a 'smart city'. The aim of the agreement was to 'digitally transform the city' with cutting-edge technologies, such as those involving cloud storage, big data and the internet of things, Huawei said in a statement published on Wednesday. (China Daily)

Deutsche Bank plans to capture more market share in China as the country continues to open its financial sector to foreign players, said Werner Steinmueller, the bank's Asia-Pacific CEO. Steinmueller envisioned good prospects for the German banking giant's business in China, a major growth pillar for it in the Asia-Pacific region, as its corporate and investment banking units saw a fruitful year in the country last year. (China Daily)

Verizon will charge customers an extra $10 per month to add fifth-generation wireless service to their phones, the company said on Wednesday, setting the benchmark for other providers who have yet to disclose how much the faster service will cost consumers. The New York City-based carrier’s 5G service – which promises to offer broadband speeds without a hardwired connection – will launch in Chicago and Minneapolis on April 11, then expand to 30 other markets later in the year. (China Daily)

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is acquiring a stake in a major Chinese courier company as part of its efforts to expand its e-commerce footprint and boost online-to-offline sales through enhanced logistics capabilities. The internet giant is paying 4.66 billion yuan ($693 million) for a 49 percent stake in a new unit that will control 29.9 percent of Shenzhen-listed STO Express Co Ltd. (China Daily)

JPMorgan Chase will open 90 new branches in 2019 and add 700 new employees, the lender announced on Wednesday, an expansion that comes as rivals downsize their physical footprint in favor of online operations and others test out innovative approaches to their stores. (National Business Daily)

Wide-spreading bans on the Boeing 737 Max have triggered worries throughout the aviation industry. More than 40 countries including Turkey, Germany and France have joined the ban on flying the Boeing 737 Max aircraft after two crashes within five months, showing a global rebellion against the US manufacturer's most popular plane. Boeing shares sank 6.15 percent on Tuesday after losing 5.3 percent on Monday, wiping out billions in market capitalization. (National Business Daily)

Honda is likely to recall around 1 million older vehicles in the U.S. and Canada because the Takata driver's air bag inflators that were installed during previous recalls could be dangerous. Documents posted Monday by Canadian safety regulators show that Honda is recalling many of its most popular models for a second time. The models are from as far back as 2001 and as recent as 2010. (National Business Daily)

China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) and State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) have signed a strategic cooperation deal, said the State assets supervising authority. The move is aimed at promoting mutual benefit and development of the two State-owned companies, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. (National Business Daily)

Volkswagen will cut up to 7,000 position, aim to boost productivity and deliver 5.9 billion euros ($6.7 billion)of annual savings at its core VW brand by 2023, in its latest attempt to raise profitability at its top-selling division. The plan, announced on Wednesday, comes a day after the German automaker warned it would cut jobs as it speeds up the rollout of electric cars, which are less complex to build and require fewer workers. (Global Times)

Exxon Mobil Corp said on Wednesday it plans to open its wallet and increase capital spending by 10 percent to 16 percent next year, as the U.S. oil major looks to restore flagging oil and gas production despite investor pressures to boost returns. (Global Times)

Rite Aid CEO John Standley is among three top-ranked executives being replaced at the company. It is part of a restructuring that will also cut 400 corporate jobs, coming to a fifth of the company's corporate positions. (Global Times)

Tesla is reportedly planning to shut stores and showrooms in the Chinese market after a new round of price cuts, a move analysts said is intended to cut costs to meet rising challenges from local brands, which are expanding their own physical outlets. Tesla will close some of its locations in China starting in the second quarter and there will be adjustments to two stores in Shanghai. The US-based car company will also stop paying Chinese sales personnel commissions. (Global Times)